- Saudi Awwal Bank is leveraging Chainlink to develop regulated on-chain financial applications.
- LINK exchange reserves have fallen to multi-year lows, signaling accumulation.
- LINK’s price has held support near $23 but faces strong resistance around the $25 level.
Chainlink’s LINK token remains firm near $23 as strategic partnerships expand and exchange balances drop to their lowest levels in years.
A combination of institutional adoption, a push into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, and tightening token supply has set the stage for a potential breakout, even as traders remain cautious around key resistance levels.
Saudi Awwal Bank partners with Chainlink for on-chain finance
Saudi Awwal Bank, one of the kingdom’s largest banks with more than $100 billion in total assets, has signed an agreement with Chainlink to begin building regulated on-chain financial applications.
Developers at the bank will use Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) and Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) to create tokenized applications that can connect Saudi markets to global blockchain networks.
Saudi Awwal Bank (@alawwalsab), one of Saudi Arabia’s largest banks with over $100 billion in total assets, is leveraging several Chainlink services to facilitate the deployment of next-generation onchain applications in Saudi Arabia.
Under the innovation agreement, SAB is… https://t.co/DAvUawI3Yg pic.twitter.com/Zhlm1GJdGp
— Chainlink (@chainlink) September 16, 2025
The agreement aligns with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy beyond oil revenues.
By partnering with Chainlink, the bank is opening a pathway for tokenized capital markets—an industry valued at more than $2.3 trillion in Saudi Arabia.
This move could accelerate adoption of regulated blockchain infrastructure across the region and position Chainlink at the center of institutional finance in the Middle East.
Chainlink’s institutional push coincides with AI expansion
The Saudi agreement follows another strategic initiative.
On September 16, Chainlink announced it had joined AethirCloud’s AI Unbundled Alliance, a program designed to advance Web3 AI infrastructure.
Through this initiative, Chainlink will offer its CRE platform to developers working on AI-driven decentralized applications, while also funding hackathons and targeted grants.
By joining the alliance, Chainlink has extended its role beyond decentralized finance (DeFi) to enable verifiable AI workflows across both blockchain and traditional systems.
This broadens Chainlink’s appeal and positions LINK as an important piece of infrastructure for the next phase of Web3 adoption.
Shrinking LINK reserves point to accumulation
While adoption headlines are encouraging, on-chain data may offer an even clearer signal.
The amount of LINK held on centralized exchanges has declined from nearly 200 million in 2023 to about 158.1 million as of September 2025.
$LINK on exchanges hit a multi-year low while the biggest institutions on the planet are adopting Chainlink pic.twitter.com/0g78TjNZDu
— Quinten | 048.eth (@QuintenFrancois) September 16, 2025
The steady decline reflects accumulation by long-term holders and reduces the amount of supply available for immediate sale.
In previous cycles, sharp drops in exchange reserves have often preceded major rallies.
This trend, combined with growing institutional partnerships, strengthens the bullish case for LINK despite recent market hesitation.
In particular, shrinking reserves indicate tightening liquidity that could fuel a price breakout if demand increases.
Price outlook for Chainlink suggests a potential breakout
The current mix of supply tightening, expanding institutional use cases, and Chainlink’s entry into AI infrastructure creates a constructive backdrop for LINK.
While short-term sentiment remains cautious, the longer-term setup favors upside as demand converges with reduced token availability.
At the time of reporting, LINK traded at $23.28 with a market cap of $15.79 billion, according to CoinGecko.
The token traded between $23.18 and $23.73 over the past 24 hours and is still up more than 119% year-over-year.
However, it remains about 55% below its all-time high of $52.70 set in May 2021.
Technical indicators point to a consolidation phase, with LINK holding support above $23.
Bulls face significant resistance at $25. A decisive close above that level could open the door to $26.10 and higher.
If adoption in Saudi Arabia accelerates and the AI alliance gains traction, traders believe Chainlink could overcome resistance and target higher levels, with some analysts citing $52 as a potential milestone by year-end.
On the downside, a break below $23 risks a pullback toward $20 or even $19.53, levels analysts view as key support zones.